Eating enough fruits and vegetables is essential for getting the right amount of nutrients, but the hard truth is that hardly any adults or children eat enough of these colorful foods. There can be serious consequences for not consuming the nutrients that they provide, too, like a higher risk for cancer, heart disease, stroke, and other serious health conditions (1). Because it’s hard to get the right amount of fruits and veggies, vitamins for the whole family can help. 

Taking multivitamin supplements can help your family get the nutrients that they need even if it’s not possible to eat the recommended amounts of fruits, vegetables, and other types of healthy foods. The best multivitamin for family use is one that acts as an insurance policy - ensuring that your body gets the minerals and nutrients that it needs to function properly. 

There are plenty of reasons why you should be taking multivitamins as a family, and the way that taking multivitamins benefits your family will look different for each and every household, but a few reasons to to incorporate them into your routine are as follows: 

They promote healthy aging in older adults. As the body gets older, it doesn’t absorb nutrients at the same level it once did, and a multivitamin can help that process along. 

Multivitamins are good for your heart as well. With heart disease as the leading cause of death in men and women in the United States, this is never a bad thing.

What happens to your body when you start taking vitamins, you may ask. Well, if your multivitamin is high quality, it can boost your immunity. Vitamin C, D, and E are known for the way that they strengthen the immune system and reduce allergy symptoms. This is a perk for adults and children alike. 

If Vitamin A, C, E, B3, or selenium are included in a multivitamin, they have the potential to aid eye health as well. Having healthy eyes is something that the whole family can benefit from. 

Best Multivitamin For Adults

There are certain vitamins and minerals that an adult’s body needs, and if you aren’t receiving these from your daily diet, then consuming liquid vitamins for adults might be something you should look into. The best multivitamin for adults is one that includes the thirteen vitamins and fifteen minerals that are essential to your overall health (2). The best ones may also produce enzymes and hormones, boost immunity, and make sure your nervous system is functioning in the way that it should. The best multivitamin for women may center around reproduction, especially if you are a pregnant woman or a woman who is trying to become pregnant. The best multivitamin for a woman in her 20s may contain folate, which is good for healthy growth and function and can also help to reduce the risk of birth defects in a fetus. 

Multivitamins also have the potential to aid brain function. They may improve memory in older adults, and if a multivitamin contains B12, it could qualify as the best multivitamin for women over 40 - especially if that woman is particularly concerned about memory issues. 

We’ve talked a lot about women, so you may be wondering: Should a man take a multivitamin? The answer is yes, especially if a man is over 40, a vegan or a vegetarian, or someone who doesn’t get enough nutrients from food alone. The best multivitamin for men is one that can meet their needs and make sure that their body is functioning properly. 

Teenage Multivitamin

During the teenage years, prioritizing a balanced diet is the most important thing you can do to make sure that your teen gets all the nutrients that they need. But even if a teen eats healthily, there are still ways that they can experience nutritional gaps, and that’s where a teenage multivitamin can help (3). 

Teens need a multivitamin that’s a bit different than what children need or what adults need based simply on the stage that they’re at. For example, the best multivitamin for a teenage girl might not be what’s best for her mother or her younger brother. 

Here’s what you should look out for in teenage multivitamins: 

Iron is an especially good ingredient. Teenage vitamins for her include iron in many cases because they support blood health, and teenage girls can benefit from this when they begin menstruating. Teenage vitamins for him with iron exist, too, but it’s not as often that you see teenage boys with iron deficiencies. 

Other good teenage multivitamin gummies include Omega-3 DHA because this mineral helps to support brain, vision, and heart health. If your teen is a vegetarian, you’ll want to look for omega-3 DHA supplements that are derived from microalgae instead of fish. 

Teen gummy vitamins that contain folate are helpful too, because folate plays a key role in red blood cell formation and DNA methylation. This means that folate is included in some of the best multivitamins for teenage growth. 

Vitamin B12 is typically found in meat, fish, and eggs, so this can be something that’s hard for vegans to come by in their diet. Taking a multivitamin that includes it can prevent deficiencies. 

Vitamin A is one of the most important teenage vitamins for him because many boys don’t get enough of it in their diet, and it can help with immune function and vision as well. 

Other vitamins and minerals that you should look for in your teenager’s multivitamin include: Vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin K2, magnesium, calcium, and zinc. 

Vitamins For Kids

Vitamins for kids don’t look too much different than vitamins for adults, but they do require a different amount. Many children who eat a well-balanced diet don’t require nutrients, but there are circumstances that require a child’s diet to be supplemented with multivitamins for kids (4). 

If a child is at risk of deficiencies, this could put them on the list of children who require multivitamins. If a child is a vegan/vegetarian, has a condition that increases their need for certain nutrients (like celiac disease, cancer, cystic fibrosis, or inflammatory bowel disease), if they’ve had surgery that impacts the intestines/stomach, or if they are extremely picky eaters. 

Children who eat a plant-based diet may be at risk for a deficiency in calcium, iron, zinc, and vitamins B12 and D, especially if they don’t eat any animal products. They could benefit from the best vitamins for kids. 

Children who are extremely picky eaters could utilize the best kids’ multivitamin with iron, as it’s been found that they are commonly lacking in that mineral. They could also use vitamins for kids’ appetites, as a hungry child is one who is much more willing to eat. 

The best vitamins for kids are vitamins that are tailored to their specific lifestyles and needs, just like adults. For example, if your child is a vegan, they could benefit from growth vitamins for kids - because if they don’t receive certain nutrients that aren’t available within a vegan diet, it could harm their future growth. 

The best multivitamin for kids with celiac disease or IBD includes iron, zinc, and vitamin D, because their bodies typically have trouble absorbing these nutrients from food. But the best vitamins for kids to gain weight who have cystic fibrosis may include vitamins A, D, E, and K, as they have trouble absorbing fat from food. 

Liquid Multivitamin For Kids

If you feel your child isn’t getting enough nutrients from the food that they eat, then unflavored children’s liquid vitamins can help. Especially if your child is known for being picky, a liquid multivitamin for kids that they can’t taste should go over well. All you have to do is add it to any drink that your child enjoys and they won’t even know that it’s there. 

The best liquid multivitamin for kids is one that can bridge any nutritional gaps that they might be experiencing. Whatever they’re not getting from their diet, they can get from a liquid multivitamin. Many parents are looking for multivitamins that can help to bolster their child’s immune system, especially if their child is going to school - a place where germs can thrive. Vitamins that can strengthen the immune system include vitamin C, zinc, and calcium. More minerals that can help with the immune system include magnesium, omega-3 fatty acids, magnesium, B-vitamins, and iron. By choosing a children’s liquid multivitamin that includes these minerals, you will be able to ensure that your child stays healthy throughout the school year and beyond. 

Vitamins For Toddlers Under 2

Many people are curious about vitamins for toddlers under 2 years old. Parents are curious whether their toddlers should be taking vitamins, and while every child and every situation is unique, a liquid multivitamin for toddlers under 2 can benefit many young children. 

The best organic vitamins for toddlers can patch up the holes in their diet. It can be difficult to make sure that your little human gets the right amount of vitamins and nutrients to keep them going - especially if they’re a picky eater. But even the pickiest eater won’t be able to detect tasteless liquid vitamins for toddlers. 

The best multivitamin for a 2 year old is one that contains vitamins A, Bs, C, D, and E (5). These vitamins should be readily absorbed by the toddler’s body, which means that liquid form is the best form that you can choose. 

If you’ve got a toddler on your hands who isn’t crazy about eating and would rather stay busy doing anything but sitting at the table, there are also vitamins available that can increase your toddler’s appetite. It’s normal for a parent to worry about whether or not their child is getting the nutrients that they need - feeding your children is an instinctual urge that is programmed into us. But with liquid multivitamins for toddlers, even with the most finicky eaters, you won’t have to worry. 

Resources

1. "8 Reasons to Take a Multivitamin Every Day." Tespo Vitamins, tespovitamins.com/8-reasons-take-multivitamin-every-day/.
2. Palsdottir, Hrefna. "Do Multivitamins Work? The Surprising Truth." Healthline, 28 Jan. 2021, www.healthline.com/nutrition/do-multivitamins-work#recommendation.
3. "What to Look for in a Teen Multivitamin." Ritual, ritual.com/articles/teen-multivitamin.
4. Streit, Lizzie, and Rachael Link. "9 Best Vitamins for Kids: Do They Need Them (and Which Ones)?" Healthline, 14 July 2021, www.healthline.com/nutrition/vitamins-for-kids.
5. Forrest, Lauren. "Top 10 Best Multivitamins for Toddlers Age 2." The Vitamin Gal, thevitamingal.com/best-vitamins-for-2-year-olds/.